December ramblings

Have achieved one of my life goals, strange as this may sound, have purchased three (3) pairs of Levi 501s, 34" (waist) x 38" (legs), two (2) in dark blue denim, and the other one in black - one of the first pairs of jeans in black :o Ever!!! ;) Gave in to the urge, for I can see that they will fade rather well over time, and I do expect to be using the pairs for quite a few years ... When they arrived, it was a total 'Goldilocks' moment - tried the 1st pair of denim, it was rather 'snug'; put the black pair on, could not do up the top button; but the 2nd denim pair was tight, but fitted well - does mean I really, really need to lose the extra bit around the middle ... Of course, a lot of this was to do with the nature of the material, for since getting (and washing) them, they are now settling down a lot more :) Ironically, the day after they arrived from the USA, I got a text message from Mother, saying that she was flying off to see Pete in Dallas, leaving tomorrow, and did I want any jeans?
All in all, happy now ...
Sometimes it can just be good to have money to spend on such extravagences ;) Of course, I do have three (3) other pairs of jeans (+ the 32" x 38" 501s, but there is no avoiding them being too small) that I will need to work around/with, but I am sure that I will manage ... The Wranglers are good for weekend/work wear; the R M Williams can be my good/dressy pair; and, the Levi 559s are good to just have around so as to have backup, as it were?
Lashed out on the Steam website, and bought a game called 'FTL : Faster Than Light' - pleasantly engaging, as there is not a lot of action, but having to negotiate with the realtime concerns caring for ship and crew is enthralling. But still am feeling my way through the rules and mechanisms on how to play, so that can be an adventure too! Did not come with any player manual, nor does there seem to be one available online ... a different style of play to be sure. Actually, bought another game 'Portal 2' but when I went to download the game, it suggested a huge amount of space - like 100GB, or something 'ridiculous' so have not completed that one just yet ... Mind you, I still have like $200 left on my modem ... and it will need recharging soon - 13/01/13? Sheesh, there is always something, hey?
Well, in more recent news, my stars were quite positive for today, and I just got offered HD, from 02/01/13 - 20/01/13 :) Just need to parley that into some other success, but what fun it shall be! Will make for an interesting time, as it is really just a reward for being a 'good' boy, as it were? Having some sort of set goals/project to work to/for, e.g. training other people, seems to be more immediate/appropriate ... Also today we had the 'Frontline Forum' with Pam, sitting down and discussing what the input from the floor can provide to the RD. Seems the two (2) main issues were the nature of OHS breaks - 5 minutes every 25 minutes - and the ambiguity with working outside of scheduled hours - where RTW people are feeling good, so work a little more, so that when feeling not so good, can take some of that accrued flex in lieu of using UPL. Anyway, not that I contributed much, but it was good to sit down with some of the others and thrash out a few things, especially Pam's estimation of some of the significant changes that are due to come our way - e.g. all be APS 4s, doing more involved/complex work tasks :)

20/12 Well, the 'eve of destruction', 'it's the end of the world as I know it, and I feel fine', as that band used to sing, waiting for 12/21/12 to begin, and my greatedt plan revolves around sitting out the back with a bottle of whisky, watching the stars fall ... Jorge is off to go blow shit up in Libya, via Bosnia, and I really do not think that I miss it too much ... maybe I am getting old? Anyway, they are gathering at La La Land (or some such), but instead I am flitting home on the train, sitting in 1st Class, typing this ... soon there will be nobody left to invite me out - people do that apparently, just give up on you ... Right, that can be the 2013 plan - more socialising, interaction(s), and sociability ... well, shall see, along with so many other things, e.g. fitter, healthier, hsppier, etc. Problem is, I am not too badly done in any of those areas - might look like I have Berri Berri, with my rotund tummy, but I still (only) weigh 80kg, have skinny little arms, and so it goes on ...
Really do need to sit down and plan these things out, however - what needs to be done, when to be achieved by, develop plans of management/strategies ...
Might set myself up with a 500k achievement plan - surely not too excessive in light of having 12 days in which to do it? Especially if I get myself organised and go ride down to Lorne (and back)? Other directions are to revisit the NW (Steiglitz) and SW (Moriac) locales? Need to get in there and explore my maps again, see what the opportunities are, and then just go 'exploring' - what is happening in Bannockburn, or Teesdale, to name but a few of possibilities ... and then there needs to be a 'few' rides on the Trance, or else we will get ride of it - use it, or lose it!

That time again

Hmm, well time seems to have slipped away again ... but at least I can (or pretend to) say that I have been busy:

• Did the Bellarine 100 Audax ride. After some considerable negotiation with Bruce and Felix, resulting in Felix just getting the required monies and giving it to me, thus committing them to the ride, we were off. Coming up Shell Road, Felix cramped, fell off his bike, so we decided to pull the pin and ride back into town, by going along the Bellarine Highway. Twice the chain fell off when I was chasing them, they having got the idea that it was not okay for me to ride off and leave them behind (a la Portarlington Hills, although they did wait for me on the outskirts, as I had stopped to fix up my jersey), but it was alright for them to ride off on me. Blew a tyre just outside of Leopold, and ended up repairing it was a $5 note. At which point Maxine pulled up :o Another girl blew a chain climbing up into Drysdale, and had to abandon the ride all together :( Fantastic lunch in Point Lonsdale (although was a little bit further than I had anticipated by the instructions) prepared by Maxine, etc. consisting of sandwiches, cakes, drinks, etc. Then there was a BBQ with snags and potato patties at the end, with more drinks, salad, bread, etc. Never let it be said that we would ever starve! At the beginning, I (as I usually do) let everyone else roll out, went to chase the boys down, and found that they had 'disappeared'! Was not helped by dropping chain just past Tryboys, either. Anyway, could see Simon + recumberant in distance, just before the Leopold hill, so decided to catch him and ride instead with him ... but then found the boys tucked in around him! Spent a lot of time doing the pacing and leading, especially when riding into the wind. Bruce and I had decided to shelter Felix as much as possible, but then I protected both as much as I could;
• Been doing the GTC rides - 50k on 25/11 and 20k on 02/12. Both were lead by Steve. On the former, we wended our way out through the suburbs, eventually ending up in Moriac for a (long) coffee. When Maxine said that she was off home, and the others were going to Torquay, I thought I would pull the pin too, offer to shepard her back into town. Bruce and Rolf decided to venture back as well, which meant (I thought) that we could have a rotating protection around Maxine ... but they stayed behind her all the way back into town!!! Indeed, the only time the came forward was to roll down the hill on High Street in Belmont shortly before we each went out separate ways (after the bridge) ... Gosh it was a lot of fun! Many people that I have not seen (or ridden with) in quite a while, including Geoff/Heather ... and Simon was there too :) Made sure to express my gratitude to them all for the beanbag and the house ... The ride itself was quite a challenge - it may have been because of the Bellarine 100 the previous weekend, but my thighs were extremely heavy, and so as we 'climbed' up to Mount Duneed Road, I took off to go spin high revs to clear the legs, which seemed to work :) As for the latter ride, it was an 'Easy' ride, just going over the top of town, out through North Geelong, then getting on the path and rolling over to Cementies, DOWN, and then back along the path next to the river. Stopped for coffee at the Bouthouse, chatted to Wendy and Brother John (who has got a really nice new D-600), then meandered along again ... was an extremely easy ride, although it did start rather fast! The main attraction was again seeing people who I have not seen in awhile :) Bruce is certainly getting a little more enthusiastic about these rides, which could be a good thing?
• Have gone back to doing four (4) long days at work - calculated that from door to door, I am expending 52 hours a week on this working stint, and 56 hours if working a 5 day week :o
• Have set up a savings account for excess monies - it offering 5% interest ... and the term deposits were ~4.5% p.a. Also, turns out today that the Qld PT will no longer accept any money from me :( Turns out that after a 'review' it was decided that any customer who was not under administration (i.e. a relationship where the PTQ was the Trustee) would be excluded. The money can stay there, but no further deposits would be accepted - no distributions to be reinvested, no regular savings amounts to be accepted, no further deposits accepted ... sounds dire! Sounds like it might be time to look further afield, either for different opportunities and/or for different fields?
• Since getting the new bike, have not actually ridden it anywhere ... :o
• Pete came to visit, so we had a rather nice lunch hour together - I had a quinoa salad, and was rather pleased with it. He had come down with his daughter, who was off giving shows to finishing year Dentists re. their insurance obligations and needs. Turns out that they were off to Bendigo, to go to the campus there, and he was hoping to catch up with Mel and/or TracE ... but they were not available, so he had to put up with me ;)